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California Offshore Challenge: Reflections

Trophy Bass: Late Fall through the winter months are some of the best months out of the year to head to the islands in the hunt for giant Calico Bass!

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Craig Bark with Island Calico Bass!

Good Times with Good Friends!

Hot summer days, bikinis on the beaches, warm water, when one thinks of theses things, one place comes to mind, Southern California. For those of us who have been fortunate enough to live here our entire lives, we look forward to the warm weather and bikinis on the beaches. Fishermen also look forward to this time of year as well. Not only do the bikinis show up on the beaches, but they end up on or off on boats too. The warm weather and water also brings the pelagic species to the local banks, which makes it possible for even small boats to go out and get them; however, when late September and early October roll around, a strange thing happens…many boaters start putting their boats away for the winter.

Why do so many people ‘winterize’ and put away their boats for months at a time? We don’t really have a winter here in Southern California, and even though the pelagics may migrate elsewhere for a few months, we still have great fishing. As far as the weather is concerned for fishermen, it actually gets better. The west winds that are prevalent on most afternoons throughout the summer are gone, and they are often replaced with the Santa Ana winds, which come out of the northeast and truly pacify the inner waters of the Pacific Ocean.